. GKOUSE SHOOTIXG (PART V\ ' DRIVING' 337 



COMMENTS ox FIG. 66 (OPPOSITE PAGE) 



The large arrow points in the direction the wind blows from. 



The small arrows are the men driving the grouse to the guns. 



The single flags are the flankers. 



The double flags are the pointsmen. 



The small circles are the shelters containing the shooters. 



This example differs from the previous one, as it will be seen the 

 drivers and flankers are walking across one side of the drive. If the 

 men marched straight for the guns as in fig. 64, the birds would 

 nearly all pass down the wind over the three guns on the left, and 

 the other shooters would obtain little chance of sport ; besides this, 

 many of the birds would break out of the drive at its left-hand side, 

 irrespective of flankers and pointsmen. 



In fig. 66 the drivers are walking in a curved line partly meeting 

 the wind. Their reason for doing this is that, as they flush the grouse, 

 the birds will at first fly towards the centre of the drive (the safest 

 part to have them), and then afterwards wheel round with the wind 

 and distribute themselves over the guns, as shown in the sketch. 



Fig. 66 also explains how the downwind side of the drive will 

 have to be very closely guarded by the flankers and pointsmen, 

 especially at its left-hand corner, which is the weakest part of the 

 drive, or the one which the birds are most likely to try and escape at. 



The flankers and the one pointsman on the upwind boundary of 

 the drive are scarcely needed, and should be as much out of sight of 

 the birds as possible, and on no account show their flags, or it is 

 probable they will send every grouse -within several hundred yards of 

 them off downwind, and thus perhaps prevent the guns in the two or 

 three right-hand shelters from obtaining a shot. 



The two pointsmen standing behind the left flank of the line of 

 shooters will have a considerable effect in keeping the birds within 

 the drive progressing, even though they are posted in the rear of the 

 shelters. 



In the case of a return drive, these pointsmen standing behind are 

 absolutely necessary to turn the birds after they have passed the guns 

 into the ground that will next be driven back to the shelters. 



From whatever quarter a side wind comes, so long as it does not 

 blow toward one flank of the line of shelters, the drivers will always 

 have to walk with their faces more or less against the wind, and the 

 flankers and pointsmen will have to carefully protect the weak or 

 downwind point of the drive, whether this point is as to be seen in 

 fig. 66, or whether it lies at the other extremity of the line of shelters. 

 II Z 



